1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electric terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in order to lock a terminal in a terminal receiving cavity of a connector housing, as shown in FIG. 8, a locking hole 63 of a terminal 62 is engaged in by a locking lance 61 provided in a connector housing 60, or as shown in FIG. 9, a locking piece 64 projecting from the terminal 62 is engaged with by a locking step 66 inside a terminal receiving cavity 65. In either case, with a terminal locking device 67 in a preliminary locked position on the connector housing 60, the terminal 62 is inserted to be locked in the manner mentioned above in the terminal receiving cavity 65. The terminal locking device 67 is then moved to the full locked position on the connector housing 60, which, when can be done, proves that the terminal 62 has been fully inserted into the terminal receiving cavity 65. When in the fully inserted position, the terminal 62 is electrically connectable with a mating terminal (not shown).
In the former case, however, the connector housing 60 becomes large in size as much as the locking lance 61 is provided in the connector housing 60, and in the latter case, although the connector housing 60 can be downsized, there is a drawback that the locking piece 64 projecting from the terminal 62 may get deformed and damaged, adversely affecting the arrangement for detecting the position of the inserted terminal 62.